Canto III XLV
This makes the madmen who have made men madBy their contagion! Conquerors and Kings,Founders of sects and systems, to whom addSophists, Bards, Statesmen, all unquiet thingsWhich stir too strongly the soul's secret springs,And are themselves the fools to those they fool;Envied, yet how unenviable! what stingsAre theirs! One breast laid open were a schoolWhich would unteach mankind the lust to shine or rule:
Their breath is agitation, and their lifeA storm whereon they ride, to sink at last,And yet so nursed and bigoted to strife,That should their days, surviving perils past,Melt to calm twilight, they feel overcastWith sorrow and supineness, and so die;Even as a flame unfed, which runs to wasteWith its own flickering, or a sword laid by,Which eats into itself, and rusts ingloriously.
He who ascends to mountain-tops, shall findThe loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow;He who surpasses or subdues mankind,Must look down on the hate of those below.Though high ABOVE the sun of glory glow,And far BENEATH the earth and ocean spread,ROUND him are icy rocks, and loudly blowContending tempests on his naked head,And thus reward the toils which to those summits led.
Words in this poem
- unquiet v. t.
- To disquiet. Ld. Herbert. [1st pref. un- + quiet.]
- unteach v. t.
- To cause to forget, or to lose from memory, or to disbelieve what has been taught. [1st pref. un- + teach.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- bigoted a.
- Obstinately and blindly attached to some creed, opinion practice, or ritual; unreasonably devoted to a system or party, and illiberal toward the opinions of others.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- surviving a.
- Remaining alive; yet living or existing; as, surviving friends; surviving customs.
- overcast v. t.
- To cast or cover over; hence, to cloud; to darken.
- ingloriously adv.
- In an inglorious manner; dishonorably; with shame; ignominiously; obscurely.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III XLV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Project Gutenberg ebook #5131; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Canto III XLV, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iii-xlv.html, id L06553.
Form and metre
Canto III XLV is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCBCC, the Spenserian stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in the Spenserian stanza, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABBCBCC madA · kingsB · addA · thingsB · springsB · foolC · stingsB · schoolC · ruleC
- 2 ABABBCBCC lifeA · lastB · strifeA · pastB · overcastB · dieC · wasteB · byC · ingloriouslyC
- 3 ABABBCBCC findA · snowB · mankindA · belowB · glowB · spreadC · blowB · headC · ledC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| This makes the madmen who have made men mad | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| By their contagion! Conquerors and Kings, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Founders of sects and systems, to whom add | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Sophists, Bards, Statesmen, all unquiet things | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Which stir too strongly the soul's secret springs, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And are themselves the fools to those they fool; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Envied, yet how unenviable! what stings | 10 | /˘··˘/·˘·· |
| Are theirs! One breast laid open were a school | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which would unteach mankind the lust to shine or rule: | 12 | ··˘///······ |
| Their breath is agitation, and their life | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| A storm whereon they ride, to sink at last, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And yet so nursed and bigoted to strife, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| That should their days, surviving perils past, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Melt to calm twilight, they feel overcast | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| With sorrow and supineness, and so die; | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Even as a flame unfed, which runs to waste | 10 | /˘········ |
| With its own flickering, or a sword laid by, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Which eats into itself, and rusts ingloriously. | 13 | ····˘/··˘/˘˘˘ |
| He who ascends to mountain-tops, shall find | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow; | 10 | ·········· |
| He who surpasses or subdues mankind, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/// |
| Must look down on the hate of those below. | 10 | ·········· |
| Though high ABOVE the sun of glory glow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And far BENEATH the earth and ocean spread, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| ROUND him are icy rocks, and loudly blow | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Contending tempests on his naked head, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And thus reward the toils which to those summits led. | 12 | ··˘/·····/˘· |
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